Shanunique

In October 2021, the school morning started as expected with eight-year-old twin girls and a single mom. Chaos reigned amid a blur of arguing about outfits, packing lunches, and encouraging another bite of breakfast. Without her own car,  Shanunique* had the Uber app open, ready to use the driving service to take them to school.  

“One morning, I was getting the girls ready for school, and I was so frustrated that I threw my phone and it accidentally hit my daughter in the face.”  

Immediately she knew she’d hit her breaking point and was having her own mental breakdown.  

“Our girls were raised to know that no one is ever supposed to hurt them so in that moment, I knew I needed to be away.” 

The previous year hadn’t done any favors for Shanunique, in fact, it was filled with more trials than she’d ever endured in such a time span. Her father had passed away ten months before in January 2021. Thirty days later in February of the same year, her mother died.  

Despite such monumental losses, life continued around Shanunique, and she didn’t have any time to grieve. Her sister was married, their family reunion went on as planned, and then unexpectedly the father of her sister’s children was killed in an incident with police. To conclude the calendar year, her grandmother passed away in December 2021.  

“That whole year was really tough. As a mom and business owner, working and trying to maintain life, I had a breakdown. I searched for a therapist because I was grieving but I didn’t really know how to grieve, and things were triggering me that I didn’t know were there.” 

After the incident with her daughter, Shanunique knew she needed to prioritize her mental health and address her lingering grief, even if it meant taking personal time without her girls. She moved back to Georgia temporarily to be surrounded by family. 

While she was there, the father of her children took her to court to file for full custody of both girls. Although the case went back-and-forth in Arizona courts for a long time, the judge eventually ruled 50-50 custody split between both parents.  

“The judge told us, ‘You guys both deserve to raise your kids and your kids deserve both of you guys.’ So, we’re okay where we are now. Everything worked out the way it should. That was a journey, but it taught me everything that I needed to know. I don’t want to be stuck in the same place for my entire life thinking I’m healed when I’m not.” 

After the custody battle, Shanunique dug deep into the trauma of losing both her parents and the remorse surrounding the incident with her daughter. She began working with a therapist regularly.  

“I was so closed off because I was ashamed of what had happened with my child, ashamed about my life.” 

Shanunique successfully utilized her time in Georgia and returned to her daughters in Arizona and her career as a traveling CNA (certified nurse assistant). She continued to go to therapy and in late 2023, found Fresh Start at the recommendation of her therapist.  

“You must be comfortable with who you’re giving your dreams to… So, I did my research on Fresh Start and saw that the founder had her own trials and tribulations as a mom.  Knowing the company’s “why” is so important.” 

With her therapist, Shanunique looked over all the career training options as she hoped to transition out of her career in the healthcare field. Right away, Fresh Start’s Women in Finance (WIF) cohort stood out to her, and she applied for the Spring 2024 cohort.  

“I don’t come from a family that talked about money and that can really screw people up. At the time, I was making a lot of money as a traveling CNA, but I didn’t have anything to show for it.” 

Shanunique grew up in a lot of different homes and recalled that she was ‘raised by a village.’ Throughout her childhood, she went back and forth between living with her two grandmothers in Georgia and Wisconsin.  

“Everything I did was a problem. No one taught me how to utilize my power. I have successful family members, but they didn’t teach us anything. They didn’t tell us how they got to that success or what they had to go through to achieve what they wanted, instead it was always, ‘Don’t do that, don’t do this, don’t be this.’ Truthfully, I don’t feel like I grew up in an environment where I learned a lot, it was on me to learn from personal experience. It was a very messy life.” 

When she was accepted into the WIF program, Shanunique knew she needed to take time management seriously to coordinate all her responsibilities as a single mom. She had lingering doubt and feared that something could go wrong and prevent her from completing the cohort.  

“I had to be really serious about starting this because I needed to remain flexible with my kids. Going into this very set routine was hard work, but my kids’ father has been supportive which has helped me a lot.” 

To begin the cohort, Shanunique was met with a major challenge straight away.  

“My first day of class I was late. I don’t have a consistent car and when I ordered an Uber for the first day, it took an hour to get to me. Then we got stuck on the highway and I panicked because it felt like this whole thing was going wrong. I thought, ‘I can’t do this every day. I can’t depend on an Uber every day.’ I was already taking my kids to school in an Uber, and it would’ve been too much to keep doing that and also taking one to class at Fresh Start.” 

After that first day of the class, Shanunique left and proudly bought a car.  

Despite a successful career in healthcare, she had nearly no experience in finance. Shanunique was starting from scratch in building her financial acumen.  

“The Women in Finance cohort helped me learn so many small things within finance that will help me, my family, and my community. It gave me confidence in general to know and understand my worth. We were coached to know that we are assets to our future employers, and we have the transferable skills to be successful.” 

As days passed, Shanunique realized that the Women in Finance cohort taught the basics to jumpstart a career in finance, but also aided each participant’s personal development.  

“It’s real support. I did not expect our teacher Sara to be as wonderful as she was and it’s hard to find someone as genuine as she is in a non-profit scenario. Fresh Start stands by what they say: their mission and core values, and I think that’s so important.” 

Six weeks later, Shanunique completed Fresh Start’s Women in Finance cohort with her fellow classmates, and she is most proud of one personal attribute that she can carry into her next career step.  

“I’m proudest of my resilience. That’s hard to do. People give up every day but to know that I have the mental capacity to keep striving and still wanting more after everything that got thrown my way, that’s what I’m proud of. Finally, I’m able to live life and be the true me, if you’re able to live in that mindset, it’s easier to wake up joyful and wanting to be around people.”